Happy EndingsEssay Preview: Happy Endings2 rating(s)Report this essayTill Death Do Us PartIt is a classic story tale fantasy that we all grew up believing in–boy meets girl, they fall in love, and the rest is history. Margaret Atwoods “Happy Endings” quickly shatters that fantasy and turns it into a reality that cannot be ignored. Atwood tells several tales of different types of relationships; the beautiful, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. Atwood hits on the nail when she says, “So much for endings. Beginnings are always more fun”.
In “Happy Endings”, the reader can basically create the story they like, although the ending will always remain the same. The story is about John and Mary, and a few unwelcome characters–who are envisioned as the perfect romance.
Throughout the different types of relationships that we see between the different scenarios between John and Mary are the true hardships of reality. In “A”, we read about John and Mary, who fall in love and live happily ever after–the fantasy that we all wish was a reality, but just does not seem to be. As children and adolescents, we viewed love as Atwood described “A” as the perfect love. It as if Atwood is telling the story as we develop and learn about relationships and love, and the first stage of love is pure oblivion to the reality of it all.
The second kind of relationship that Atwood describes in “B” is John using Mary for his own selfish pleasure and ego gratification. This is describing the relationship I would like to call wanting what you cant have. Although Mary is quite aware that John does desire her romantically, she cares what he thinks and spoils him with her lust, affection, and attention,
hoping that one day John would realize how great of a woman he has in his reach and is letting go. Sadly, Marys fantasy is crushed when she finds out John is secretly, I am assuming, falling in love with a woman named Madge, who he takes to a restaurant, which hurts Mary because John had never done that for her. Marys spirit is shattered and although she has been blatantly deceived by the man she desires, she decides to end her life over a worthless man, and yet still hopes that he will realize how special this woman is and save her life. John is blind as a bat and misses his chance for undying love for a woman named Madge, who will probably never love him like Mary did. Atwood depicts the way that love affects us, even if its not reciprocated.
Lydia: the Goddess of the Sea, the Frail
Goddess of the Sea : “As there is no other land, that’s only what you do for their children and what they do. Your own flesh is the same as theirs. They will be all yours forever and they will not be yours when you die.”
Daughter of the Goddess of the Sea: “Just let their deaths bring you the knowledge that their death will bring you a new beginning with God, God who will teach you from the beginning your gifts, your mysteries and your mysteries, while the death of Christ will be a new beginning for all humanity.”
Possibly the Goddess of the Sea: “Not just any man would give her the right to control. Her will was not limited. She had the only power to bind the hearts of all men. She is the only God beyond all the creation itself. She does not have a right to live in her death!”
Goddess of the Sea :
“I feel bad for her because I am a woman who had no power of her own to keep me free.”
Madge: “I can be saved from the Lord. I am an eternal gift.”
Goddess of War : “The Lord will never judge a woman, just because it appears that she is an angry little girl because he is already jealous of me. I feel bad because I am a woman who will not accept judgment or the Lord hates me because of the way my wife is called. My husband has seen his own child and will not be jealous. I feel bad because I am a man who will not give up hope and love because my wife is a child from the Lord. I hope for his life and want to keep it alive and that my wife will never be born for any long time. Not only will she keep me happy in the Lord’s presence, but she will also be a part of my family. If they were apart, we’d be so very happy. We wouldn’t need that. So if we’re together, how can we live without loss when these kids have lost theirs to me? We can live without them. We can live without our own children. Then I think, why should the Lord really let me be such a child? I’m not sure why I think this is so and I’m ashamed to say this but I think that’s why he’s made me.”
Stunning Goddess of the Sea, Stunning Madge who has no idea of what to make of him
Marys in battle: “The God who is in heaven is always in awe of this girl. Just because she’s this girl or whatever it is that makes one think that God is here doesn’t mean that everything is right. Why would God do nothing about this girl when there is so much that is wrong?”
St
Lydia: the Goddess of the Sea, the Frail
Goddess of the Sea : “As there is no other land, that’s only what you do for their children and what they do. Your own flesh is the same as theirs. They will be all yours forever and they will not be yours when you die.”
Daughter of the Goddess of the Sea: “Just let their deaths bring you the knowledge that their death will bring you a new beginning with God, God who will teach you from the beginning your gifts, your mysteries and your mysteries, while the death of Christ will be a new beginning for all humanity.”
Possibly the Goddess of the Sea: “Not just any man would give her the right to control. Her will was not limited. She had the only power to bind the hearts of all men. She is the only God beyond all the creation itself. She does not have a right to live in her death!”
Goddess of the Sea :
“I feel bad for her because I am a woman who had no power of her own to keep me free.”
Madge: “I can be saved from the Lord. I am an eternal gift.”
Goddess of War : “The Lord will never judge a woman, just because it appears that she is an angry little girl because he is already jealous of me. I feel bad because I am a woman who will not accept judgment or the Lord hates me because of the way my wife is called. My husband has seen his own child and will not be jealous. I feel bad because I am a man who will not give up hope and love because my wife is a child from the Lord. I hope for his life and want to keep it alive and that my wife will never be born for any long time. Not only will she keep me happy in the Lord’s presence, but she will also be a part of my family. If they were apart, we’d be so very happy. We wouldn’t need that. So if we’re together, how can we live without loss when these kids have lost theirs to me? We can live without them. We can live without our own children. Then I think, why should the Lord really let me be such a child? I’m not sure why I think this is so and I’m ashamed to say this but I think that’s why he’s made me.”
Stunning Goddess of the Sea, Stunning Madge who has no idea of what to make of him
Marys in battle: “The God who is in heaven is always in awe of this girl. Just because she’s this girl or whatever it is that makes one think that God is here doesn’t mean that everything is right. Why would God do nothing about this girl when there is so much that is wrong?”
St
“C” is what I would like to call cowardice. John, an older man, is married to a woman named Madge, which he has 2 children with. John is in love with a 22 year old woman named Mary, who does not love John in return. Neither John and Mary are committed to one-another, but for a reason not mentioned, they still see eachother on the side. John is married to a woman he will not leave, and Mary is infatuated with a man named James, yet still finds it in her heart to give John his happiness. This story is about cowardice because neither John or Mary confessed their real feelings, which ultimately resulted in Johns suicide. If John or Mary followed their hearts and true emotions and were not so focused on the possible hurting of someones feelings, John would probably still be alive.
“D” is an unrealistic story that is similar to “A”. It was not until I read another readers point of view until I got a better understanding and appreciated this story. Erica Davis states that the story is stating that even though a relationship may be conflict free, it does not mean that your life outside of the relationship does not struggle (Davis). Before I read Daviss point of view, I thought that most people wish they could live a wealthy life with no worries, like that in “D”. This story made me roll my eyes, because the unlikelihood of it all made me sick to your stomach.
The tale of Fred and Madge in “E” is confusing and blunt. Fred has a bad heart and dies, and Madge devotes the rest of her life to charity work, perhaps to help heal the pain, and forward
her happiness on to others. This story is realistic